U.S. Industrial Production Rises

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Meanwhile, here are the major headlines from the last week:

• According to the Federal Reserve, total U.S. industrial production rose 0.5 percent in February to a level that is 103.6 percent of its 2017 average. Manufacturing output increased 1.2 percent while the index for utilities declined 2.7 percent and the output of mines edged up 0.l percent.
• Statistics Canada said manufacturing shipments rose for a fourth consecutive month in January — increasing 0.6 percent — due mainly to increases in shipments from the petroleum and coal and wood product industries.
• Statistics Canada also reported that wholesale sales rose 4.2 percent to $79.8 billion in January due to gains in sales of building material and supplies, personal and household goods, and machinery, equipment, and supplies.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said manufacturing activity in its region weakened considerably in early March due to declines in orders and shipments and longer delivery times. The bank’s general business conditions index fell to -11.8, the lowest since May 2020, from +3.1 a month earlier. Employment growth also softened. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia had the opposite results: its manufacturing survey rose 11 points to 27.4 this month, its highest reading since November 2021. More than 40 percent of the firms reported increases (up from 26 percent last month) in current activity this month. The current shipments and new orders indexes both rose to their highest readings since November 2021.
• According to the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, 88.1 percent of manufacturers cited supply chain challenges as one of their most significant business challenges in the first quarter. Nearly 80 percent cited the inability to attract and retain a quality workforce and 88.6 percent said their company would find it more difficult to expand their workforce, invest in new equipment, or expand facilities if their tax burden on income from manufacturing activities increased. Read the full survey here.
• The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits for the first time fell by 15,000 to 214,000 during the week that ended March 12. The four-week moving average of first-time claims dropped to 223,000 from 231,750 a week earlier. A 50-year low of 1.419 million people received jobless benefits during the week that ended March 5, a 71,000 decline from the previous week.
• In other economic news: the cost of imported goods into the United States, including oil, rose 1.4 percent in February and 1.9 percent in January, making for the largest consecutive month increase in 11 years; U.S. producer prices for final demand goods and services rose 0.8 percent from January 2022 to February 2022 and 10 percent between February 2021 and February 2022; Canadian consumer prices  increased 5.1 percent from January 2022 to February 2022 and 5.7 percent year-over-year, the largest gain since August 1991; the number of new homes under construction in the United States rose 6.8 percent between January and February and 22.3 percent year-over-year; and the number of existing homes sold fell 7.2 percent for the month and 2.4 percent for the year.